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Perk # 66: A Five Week Vacation

What would you call this: five weeks away from cooking and cleaning; away from packing lunches and helping with homework; away from all the hum drum duties of running a household. A vacation? Yeah, that’s how I see it. Yesterday I started my radiation therapy. Since the nearest hospital which offers this treatment is more than 300 kilometers away, I was “forced” to leave my small town and move to the city for five weeks (with Shawn!). Whatever shall I do with myself for the next five weeks without my loveable kiddies and furry critter? (I will still see them on the weekends). Here’s what I was thinking:

-Take up yoga (I have my first private session tonight)

-Go to the movies

-Dine out at nice restaurants

-Visit a spa

-Hang out at Chapters

-Shop for some new workout clothes at lululemon

-Walk/run in Bowring park

-Visit “The Rooms” Museum

-Go to the flea market

-Take in a dinner theatre

That should pretty much take care of the first week. Any ideas to add?

Tip: If your cancer treatments take you to new cities and towns, why not treat it like a vacation? If your medical appointments are nearby, you can still plan an outing, such as going to a favourite restaurant or seeing a show. Give yourself something to look forward to.

Nice that you included some of my favorite things to do! Eat at the Sprout for brunch. Shop at Devon House for special gifts. Drop in to Sharingtons for their big sale. Lindor at the Avalon Mall has nice skirts, tops and dresses on sales, as well! Walk slowly down Duckworth St. dropping in to tiny shops along the way. Perhaps meet some of your followers for coffee or green tea!

Oh yes Florence, I really identify with this post. I decided to treat my whole 9 months of treatment as a vacation – I was lucky enough to have insurance to cover my absence from work – I did yoga, meditation, joined a writing class, and took time for myself – time I would never normally allow myself to just be. So good to hear you are giving yourself the same gift – not that we would wish these circumstances on you – but when life gives you lemons….

This is brilliant! You could view this as a negative – 5 weeks away from your kids, 5 weeks of enduring radiation treatments – but instead you are grabbing all of the positives and embracing them with both hands! I’m praying your radiation treatments are going well and will continue to go well! Each day is one day closer to healing and completion of treatment!!

I am also very fortunate to have good insurance, so that I can focus on my healing. I do believe that the root cause of my cancer was stress, so if I want to survive this thing, I need to let go of some of the stressors in my life (done) and learn to cope with others. My blog, meditation, healthy eating, walking, and yoga are all great ways to help me cope. Marie, you are a true survivor, so it gives me reassurance to hear that you treated your illness in the same way.